Video conferencing is an increasingly popular business tool. It’s less of a “nice thing to have” and more of a “this is how we do business.” For companies expanding their presence across the map, it’s a way to have in-person meetings with customers, suppliers and staff without the added travel costs. Other companies embrace it for its green properties – a method of communication with a smaller carbon footprint. And, for others, it’s a way to boost productivity and understanding (it’s tough to surf the Web and play Solitaire on a video conference call).

So, once a business decides to invest in video conferencing, the next step is weeding through the many options for the best solution. Your first reaction may be to go with the free service, but that might not be a good fit for your business and its unique needs.

Before you fire up the webcam, here are five things to look for in a video conferencing service:

1. 24-hour technical support. If you have an important call with a large perspective client scheduled for 6 p.m. and have a technical question, the last thing you want to see is that customer service closed at 5 p.m.
2. Similarly, find out if local support is available. You may need an actual person to come by your office and assist with setup or solve a problem.
3. Look for the ability to add multiple people to the video call – and confirm the quality of the call will be consistent whether you have three people or 30.
4. Can you share documents and computer screens? It’s great to see people face to face and it’s even better to see the website or strategy document they are referencing during the call.
5. Possibly the most important consideration is security. Can the provider guarantee a secure, encrypted connection or is your call floating on the public Internet for any hacker to see?